Coincidence
by 1Question
Summary: One-Shot. Remi was used to life being interrupted by an unfortunate situation time and again, but she didn't expect her unexpected encounter with something large and mechanical to start becoming something more than coincidental. She'll shortly realize that her fate is now tied to beings that she never knew existed.


**Coincidence**

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers characters or storylines. Loosely based on G1 Transformers. One-shot.

Remi didn't think she had bad luck. Sure she had endured a few horrible situations in her time, but she didn't believe herself jinxed or anything. Still like anyone else, she was unhappy that she once again found herself in an unfortunate situation. She'd been driving home from work and it was around 7:30pm. It wasn't that late, but the sun was already nearly set. In order to avoid the inordinate amount of rush hour traffic that usually snarled the freeways, she had taken the back roads home from work. This made her cut through an industrial area full of warehouses and buildings used for storage and manufacturing. It was a little known way to go so there wasn't much traffic and it always got her home at least 30min earlier than if she had taken the freeway. She'd been sitting at a stoplight that had just turned green. As she pulled through the light, one of the warehouses on the right suddenly exploded and debris started to rain down on the street. A large brick smashed into her front windshield cracking it and she quickly looked over to see that the side windows were cracked as well. Suddenly the car was shoved across the street and Remi let out a scream as her car came to an abrupt halt as it collided with the wall of another building. Remi sat for a minute in shock and just breathed. Then she promptly disconnected her seatbelt to stop it from constricting her. Other than what she was sure would develop into bruises, she was okay. The wall blocked the driver's side door so she climbed over to the passenger side and pushed open the door. Luckily, the door wasn't blocked as the car that had collided with her was pushed up against the back of her car. Then she looked again. It wasn't a whole car that had hit her, but half of a car. Only the back seat and trunk were still there. Remi grimaced. This must have been a bad car wreck, she thought. She glanced around and took in the scene. There was damage to several warehouses and there were eight or so cars strewn around many of them in pieces. One or two were even on fire. She didn't hear any screams or anything so it was likely that the drivers were dead or unconscious. She wasn't a nurse or a doctor and her first aid skills were rusty so she doubted she could help anyone seriously injured anyway. Suddenly her attention was pulled to two tall figures a block or two away. She couldn't make them out clearly in the dark, but they looked mechanical and they were obviously fighting. She could see blades, movement and sparks as they collided. She pursed her lips in dismay. She had a pretty good idea what was going on. She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed the emergency line. When the operator answered, she gave her name and her location first.

"There's been a bad accident," she said. "There's about eight cars involved, but some are ripped apart so I can't be sure and some of them are on fire so send the fire truck. I'm not sure what happened, but I think someone is running an illegal fighting ring in the district."

"What do you mean a fighting ring?" asked the operator in confusion.

"You know those robot fanatics that build robots with saws, weapons and flame and then they fight against each other. Well they're too far away to see clearly, but I saw some robots fighting each other. They damaged the warehouses and caused the accident," she explained. "I don't see them anymore though, but maybe the police can catch them."

The operator told her that rescue personnel were on the way and Remi thanked her before hanging up. She snapped a few pictures of her car and made a call to her insurance company. She then started walking further away distancing herself in case the nearby cars exploded as the smell of fuel and burning metal permeated the air. It didn't surprise her when the insurance agent reached her before the police did. When the police finally arrived, they took her statement and Remi called for a cab. The insurance agent had been adamant that she'd get enough to replace her car and had removed the license plate for her. The young agent had pointed out the damage that the car had sustained to its engine that she hadn't noticed. It hadn't occurred to her at the time to wonder why the car was off when she hadn't turned it off. It was essentially a write off. The cab finally arrived and Remi headed home exhausted.

xxxx

Remi was happy. Her new car drove much smoother than her old one. She had splurged a little and gotten a slightly more expensive car. Also she had gotten a promotion at the office that she wasn't expecting. She knew how to do her job, but she merely completed it efficiently. She didn't put in any extra work or anything like some of the young go-getters so she was surprised when the promotion was given to her. She now had a small office instead of a cubicle so she wasn't complaining and the extra work she now had to do wasn't difficult. She supposed that tenure counted for something after all. She also had two weeks vacation and she was headed out to California for four days. She had booked herself a nice little cottage that overlooked the Pacific and she was going to kick back and relax where no one could bother her.

She was headed through a small town in Nevada on her way to California when suddenly she was blindsided. She wasn't the only one however as she saw cars being tossed like blocks. Her car got knocked into over and over again and her windshield shattered into pieces filling the car and road with glass. For the first time she got a good look at the two battling giants in front of her. Then she ducked instinctively as a car sailed her way landing a ways behind her on another car and exploding. In front of her, the robot with the red eyes stepped on one of those tiny and expensive convertibles. The car and its driver were promptly flattened. Suddenly missiles streaked from one of the robots randomly hitting buildings and other cars as the other bot dodged. Remi clasped her hands to her ears to protect them as explosions quickly surrounded her. Eventually everything went quiet and Remi pulled out her phone. Her hands were shaking as she dialed the emergency line and reported the accident. She was probably in shock so she merely gave the location and said there was an accident. The police could figure out what had really happened here that was their job after all. She pulled her feet up onto the seat and rested her head on her knees while she waited for help. There was too much debris around her for her to leave her car on her own and she didn't feel like dealing with the insurance agent right now not when she was still so shaky.

Surprisingly the people that came to her aid weren't first responders. They looked more like military so that just confirmed Remi's theory. She went along with them willingly and was released by the medics after they put a blanket over her shoulders. All she had were a few scratches from the incident and her shock had waned during the wait to be rescued. She was then put in a jeep and taken with a bunch of soldiers back to what looked like a military base. She immediately asked to use the ladies room and her escort brought her there and then took her to what looked like an interrogation room. The military doesn't play around, she thought eyeing the nearly bare room.

A man entered the room carrying two Styrofoam cups. She could smell the coffee from where she sat. He placed one in front of her and settled into the seat across from her. He had the typical military hairstyle, but he was quite the looker, however she spotted the telltale wedding band on his left hand. He was also holding her purse and he had her ID in his hand. "You're Remi Stahl?" he asked. "Resident of Arizona, thirty nine years old."

"Yes and thank you, but I know how old I am," said Remi dryly.

"I'm Major Lennox. Miss Stahl, do you know why you're here?" he asked.

"Probably because I saw the military's robosuits going up against the other robosuits. I'm going to hazard a guess that those were from another country. The only difference I saw was the eye color. It's sad that we can't keep the war off US soil anymore and that's kind of disappointing," she said.

Lennox just blinked at her. "Robosuits?" he asked.

"Yea, you know like in that movie," said Remi. "I forget the name, but they were fighting giant monsters or something with them. I figured this was similar."

"Can you describe what happened?" asked Lennox.

"I was in my car passing through Nevada on my way to California. I'm on vacation and I rented a cottage," said Remi. "Suddenly my car was getting kicked around like a block in a toddler's playpen. My front windshield shattered and I saw a car get thrown and explode and another get stepped on. Someone was throwing quite the temper tantrum. That was the first time I saw the robosuits clearly. I guess I was lucky to survive, but I won't feel like it when my insurance rates go up again. This is the second time I've lost my car to robots."

"What do you mean?" asked Lennox sitting up straighter.

"A few months ago, I was in an accident that totaled my car. I was on the way home from work when a warehouse exploded and cars and debris went flying everywhere. I think I was the only survivor. At the time I thought it was some illegal robot fighting ring," said Remi looking up. "Don't tell me that was the military robosuits again."

Lennox cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"Geez," said Remi groaning as she rubbed her brow. "You have got to be kidding me. What a coincidence." She reached for the coffee and made a scrunched up face at how bitter it was. At least it was warm.

"You don't seem that shaken up about what happened," said Lennox looking at her closely.

"Not my first accident," said Remi shrugging. "I was in the 41 car pileup in Ohio about 28 years ago. Now that was bad. A lot of people got killed in that one and I was only a kid at the time. I survived then and now this. Insurance will cover the car again and life goes on Mr. Lennox. That's all I can say."

"As to what you saw," said Lennox. "Your robosuits are not military but aliens."

"As in immigrants?" asked Remi in disbelief. "Aren't robot cage matches supposed to happen in a cage? Someone must have had the lousy idea to take them out onto the street. They've certainly stepped up from the illegal chicken fights they have in our area."

Lennox rubbed his forehead in irritation. "No, aliens as in extraterrestrials from space."

"Funny," said Remi sarcastically. "So you're telling me that there were little green men in the robosuits, but why were they fighting each other?"

"There are two factions," explained Lennox. "The ones with the blue eyes work with the military and the ones with the red eyes fight against us."

"Yea, okay," said Remi rolling her eyes. "You didn't bring me to area 51 by chance, did you?" It was a pity that the pretty ones were always so messed up, she thought looking at Lennox in sympathy.

Lennox face palmed.

"Look, I just want to return home. My vacation is ruined and I have to get another car. Can I leave?" asked Remi impatiently.

"We'll need you to sign a nondisclosure agreement," said Lennox sighing.

"Sure, whatever you want," said Remi.

xxxx

Life had finally calmed down for Remi. It was nearly a year after the event that had caused her to lose her car again and life flowed like it should. She was currently dressed in a nice navy blue dress with large gold and white flowers on it. It wasn't too short and ended just above her knees where she liked it. She was headed to a coworker's wedding and the venue was at a ranch. She didn't have any boots so she had worn wedges so that she could walk without sinking into the ground. From the rumors she'd heard at work, the whole area wasn't paved. The wedding was supposed to be simplistic and rustic and the bride was going to wear cowboy boots. At least there would be no horses involved. There was always a risk that things would go awry with animals involved. She turned down yet another rural road. She still had plenty of time and the GPS said she'd reach her destination in 15min. Suddenly the car went airborne and Remi let out a yelp. Remi hung from her seatbelt as the car hung vertically in the air with the hood pointed at the ground. Suddenly it was moving quickly through the air and the bottom of the car collided with something hard. The car shrieked in protest as it was swung back and was then brought back up to smash into something again. The glass in the windows cracked and shattered showering the ground. Remi gripped her seatbelt in trepidation just knowing that her car was going to get thrown. Suddenly her car was released and it fell ten feet straight down to the ground causing the airbags to inflate on impact. Remi got a face full of air bag, but was pulled back into her seat when her car flopped back onto its wheels. The engine was obviously not working anymore going by the silence so she didn't bother trying to start it. Instead, she looked out the window to see two robots duking it out. They started moving in her direction and Remi figured they'd probably flatten her if she remained in the car. "Oh, hell no," she said reaching for the blade in the central compartment. She hastily stabbed the airbag and cut her seatbelt. The car door wouldn't open so she quickly pulled herself out of the window and ran for it. She ran into the sparse brush that lined the side of the road and down a hill, but was forced to duck behind some boulders for protection when one robot threw the other down the incline. She watched as her car rolled down as well. They must have kicked it when they passed by. Explosions rang out as the two robots shot at each other. Finally, the one with the red eyes got up and transformed into a black SUV. Remi raised her eyebrows in surprise. That was something she hadn't seen them do before. The SUV sped off over the rough terrain while the blue-eyed robot looked around and spotted her car. He went over and flipped it right side up, but when he didn't see anyone inside, he scanned the surrounding area until he spotted her.

Remi was leaning against the boulder behind her trembling slightly with adrenalin. Lennox had said that the blue-eyed ones were working with the military so hopefully this one wouldn't hurt her. The one positive thing out of this was that her purse had been strapped across her torso so she hadn't lost it in the chaos. This meant that she still had her phone if she needed to call for help. The blue-eyed robot approached slowly and reached for her. His hand easily circled her torso and she gripped the top of his hand with both of hers as she dangled from his fist. She was quickly brought up to his eye level and felt the air stream past her as she was hoisted. All she could think at that moment was that at least no one was below to look up her skirt.

"Are you damaged?" he asked as his own arm sparked. His voice was male with a metallic overtone.

"I'll have bruises later," said Remi. "I don't think anything is broken though. You on the other hand are obviously damaged so please don't drop me."

"I won't," he replied cupping her lower half with his other hand in an attempt to reassure her. "You don't look surprised to see me."

"It's because I'm not. This is the third time my car has been destroyed by you all," said Remi gesturing at him.

"We are called Cybertronians," said the robot. "My name is Smokescreen."

Remi stared at his face for a moment noting many of the features that you'd find on a human's face.

"What is it?" asked Smokescreen looking at her curiously.

"Sorry, maybe you can clear this up for me," said Remi looking away. "Mr. Lennox said you were aliens, but your face looks too realistic for you to be humans or little grey men in robosuits. Is something controlling you inside or are you simply as I see you?"

Smokescreen chuckled. "You must be the human Lennox was telling us about the one he couldn't convince. Ironhide listened in on your conversation with him and he teased him about it for a long time. And to answer your question, yes I am how you see me. There is no one inside controlling this form."

"Well I guess I owe Mr. Lennox an apology since I thought he was crazy. So I was on my way to a wedding," said Remi. "Do I still look presentable?"

"I would suggest getting cleaned up," said Smokescreen eyeing her disheveled appearance.

"That bad, huh," said Remi sighing. "Oh well. My car is totaled again. Do you think you can take me to the nearest residence? Of course if you're too injured, can you at least point me in the right direction?"

"I can take you," he replied suddenly shifting around her.

Remi was confused and disorientated because one moment she was who knows how high in the air and the next she was on the ground sitting in the passenger seat of what appeared to be some type of sports car. It was definitely a racing car going by the spoiler. The seatbelt came up and strapped across her on its own and Remi pushed against it slightly so it didn't sit so tightly against her bruises. At this point she no longer jumped at all the impossible things that were happening around her. Then a strange thought hit her. If Smokescreen was alive and she was now sitting in him, didn't he find this awkward, she wondered. A question for later she supposed, but she politely kept her hands to herself for the duration of the drive. It wasn't that long of a drive either, but that was because the speed he drove at was more than highly reckless.

Smokescreen's voice suddenly came out of the radio. "So I know you're not surprised to see me, but you're awfully calm about being abducted by an alien," he said.

"It's not the first time," she replied. "Though it wasn't by an alien."

"You've been abducted before?" he asked in surprise.

"Yea, twice," Remi replied. "The first time was by a pedophile when I was a kid, but the cops saved me when they pulled over his car for a traffic violation and the second time was when my mother kidnapped me from my father during the divorce. She left me with some friends that had no idea what she was doing until they saw my picture on the missing person's alert on the television. Suffice it to say that she ended up in jail and I ended up with my father. At least I'm not being held as a hostage this time."

"I'm going to assume that that has happened to you as well," he said.

"Yea, twice," she replied. "I was taken hostage once when I went to the bank and a robbery had gone bad. The police shot the guy right in front of me, but that was sort of planned since I ducked down purposely and gave them the chance. The second time was when some disgruntled employee from my father's company held me hostage in his office in order to get my father to give in to his demands. He got shot by security too, but I didn't see it happen because he knocked me out since I wasn't cooperating."

"You are one interesting human," said Smokescreen. "I understand your lack of panic now. You deal with this type of situation a lot."

"Not all the time," protested Remi. "They were just bumps in the road so to speak."

Smokescreen smoothly rolled into the military base. It looked semi familiar, but Remi couldn't be sure if it was the same one from before. "I radioed ahead," said Smokescreen popping his door and retracting the seatbelt. "I'm headed to see Ratchet so I can get repaired and the soldiers will take you to the base clinic to get checked out. I'll see you later."

Remi stood on slightly shaky legs as the soldier in front of her took her arm and led her to the clinic. The medic checked over her wounds and then let her take a shower before applying antibiotic cream and bandages. Luckily the force of the seatbelt restraining her didn't break her ribs, but she already had some nasty bruising on her torso and it ached. She still only had her dress to wear, but she had wiped off the dirt and shaken all the dust off of it so it was slightly more presentable. They also provided her with some food and that same hot bitter coffee. When she was finished, the soldier then led her outside where Smokescreen waited for her in car form. He popped the door open and she got in without reservation.

"Lennox will want to talk to you, but he won't be back until later," said Smokescreen as they drove off. "So in the meantime, do you know how to play poker?"

Remi blinked. She had not been expecting that. "Yes I can play," she responded after a moment.

"Great," he said as he pulled into a hanger and let her out. He transformed up and scooped her up. She ended up partially lying on her back on his hand. One hand automatically reached down to keep her skirt from riding up and the other gripped one of his fingers so she wouldn't slip. She could just picture these giant robots walking around carrying humans like kids did with their favorite stuffed toys. Hopefully they wouldn't hold them by one leg though. She snorted at the thought and looked up to see she had caught Smokescreen's attention. Embarrassed, her face tinged pink. He raised an eye ridge in question, but was interrupted when a chorus of voices called out to him.

"About time you got here," said a robot with a visor.

"I thought we'd have to start without you," said another who was bouncing to the music that was playing.

"Ratchet beat you here and he was the one to repair you," said the one with the visor again.

"First off," said Smokescreen gently placing Remi on the table. "I had to debrief and then I had to pick up an additional player." He nodded toward Remi. "This is Remi. She says she knows how to play. Remi this is Ratchet, Jazz, Blaster and Hound."

"Hello," said Remi looking at the other robots and trying to associate the names with the faces so she wouldn't forget.

"How'd you get tangled up with Smokescreen?" asked Jazz leaning forward in interest.

"I was headed to a wedding when the red eyed one hit Smokescreen with my car while I was in it," said Remi nonchalantly. Then a thought struck her and she turned suddenly to look at Smokescreen. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt because I didn't actually see who picked the car up and who got hit."

Smokescreen raised his arms defensively. "I swear it wasn't me," he said smirking. "And the red eyed ones are called Decepticons just so you know."

"I'm dealing," said Jazz picking up the cards. "Watch yourself Remi," he warned. "Don't let Smokescreen see your cards. He'll use it against you."

xxxx

"You have got to be cheating," said Remi as she tossed her oversized cards into the pile. Ratchet groaned and tossed his cards in as well.

Smokescreen raised his hands in his defense. "I am just that good."

"Well you don't have sleeves," said Remi staring at him intently. "Did you mark the cards somehow?"

"That's what I'm saying," said Jazz from across the table and the others laughed.

"What the hell is this?" yelled a male voice suddenly from below.

Smokescreen turned around for a moment and then brought Lennox up onto the table. Dangling from Lennox's fist was a pair of gold shoes that Remi had knocked off the table earlier.

"Those would be mine," said Remi from where she was reclining on the table.

"Who is she?" demanded Lennox. "You can't just pick up and bring a civilian in like this."

"Whoa," said Remi immediately. "It's not like I'm their date. Smokescreen totaled my car and I've already signed the nondisclosure agreement from before. Do I have to sign one every time this happens?"

"To be fair it was Brawl that destroyed your car not me," said Smokescreen. "Lennox this is Remi Stahl. I believe you met about a year ago when Ironhide and Starscream went up against each other."

"Her again," said a rumbling voice in amusement from the door. Remi turned to see a large black robot leaning against the doorway.

"Really Ironhide," said Lennox turning to face him. "You aren't going to let that go, are you?" He turned back to face Remi. "I'm sorry Miss Stahl that you ended up here again. It looks like your confusion has been cleared up as well."

"Yes, Smokescreen was nice enough to explain," said Remi.

"Well if you come with me, we'll get your side of the story and get you back home," said Lennox gesturing toward the door.

Smokescreen placed Lennox back onto the floor and then reached for Remi. "It's been fun," she said. He lowered Remi down carefully and she immediately glared at Lennox. "You could have at least averted your eyes," she said. "I'm not here to give you a peep show. This is the last time I'm wearing a damn skirt."

Lennox's face went red and he silently led Remi out of the room. The bots cracked up as soon as they were out the door, but Remi could still hear their laughter down the hall.

Instead of the interrogation room this time, they ended up in what looked like Lennox's office. After Remi explained what had happened, Lennox leaned back and sighed. "So you just thought it'd be a good idea to go off and play poker with them while you waited for me?" Lennox asked raising an eyebrow.

"That was Smokescreen's idea," said Remi shrugging. "But yea I went with it. Mr. Lennox, you did say they were your allies and they may be metal aliens, but they seemed just like regular guys on a poker night."

"Just Lennox is fine," said Lennox. "You do seem to be crossing their paths an awful lot."

Remi could guess what he might be insinuating and she straightened in her chair. She crossed her arms over her chest defensively. "Look, let's get one thing straight. I'm not a reporter looking for a story and I don't want to end up in jail for breaking my nondisclosure agreement. I work in inventory and purchasing at my company and while my life might not be terribly exciting, I don't have a compulsion to do dangerous things. The first time I encountered them I never even saw them clearly and I was on my way home from work. I still drive that way home even now."

"That was the incident with Bumblebee and Barricade," said Lennox looking at his files. "You were one of only two survivors."

"The second time I saw them clearly, but I was nearly killed and my car was trapped in the middle of the wreckage," said Remi. "That Decepticon, is that how you say it?" When Lennox nodded, she continued. "He was shooting missiles all over the place. I was only there because I was cutting through Nevada on the way to California for vacation. I can still show you the receipt for the reservation if you want."

"That was the incident with Ironhide and Starscream," said Lennox flipping another page in the file.

"Before I met Smokescreen, I was on my way to a wedding," said Remi digging through her purse and tossing the crumpled invitation onto the desk. "It should be obvious by what I'm wearing as well. I'm not stalking them. It's more like they keep interrupting my life and destroying my car for that matter. Plus, until Smokescreen explained it to me, I still thought they were soldiers in robosuits."

"That was Smokescreen and Brawl," said Lennox closing the file. "I'll only say this once," said Lennox leaning forward to emphasize his words. "Civilians that have gotten involved with the Autobots," he said.

"Autobots?" interjected Remi.

"There are two factions of Cybertronians that crash landed on Earth," explained Lennox. "The Autobots and the Decepticons. The Decepticons don't care about human life and are looking to pillage our planet and leave. The Autobots crashed here as well, but are protecting us from the Decepticons, which is why we are helping the Autobots. As I was saying, civilians that have gotten involved with the Autobots are often made targets by the Decepticons."

"I take it the factions aren't on friendly terms," said Remi sinking back into her chair.

"They are at war, Miss Stahl," said Lennox. "I just thought you should know."

Remi pursed her lips and nodded in understanding.

xxxx

Several blissfully normal months passed by and Remi once again settled back into her normal life. Her insurance company had not been happy with her wrecking her car again regardless of the reason. The check they had given her wouldn't even cover half a new one and they had promptly dropped her coverage so she was forced to go with another company. She bought a cheap used car with the money. It was in desperate need of a new paint job, but so far it hadn't died on her. At least her coworker had accepted the reason why she had missed his wedding. She had told him that she blew a tire and rolled down into the ravine. The crappy used car she took to work provided all the evidence she needed.

Remi stretched and headed out the door of her apartment. There was a free concert in the nearby park and it would get her out of the house. She enjoyed her alone time, but she felt the need to socialize every once in awhile and this was a chance to do it for free. The park was only three blocks away so Remi decided to walk there. She crossed the street safely and made it to the other side when she heard the screech of a car's brakes. She and the other pedestrians glanced over to see that a cop car with its lights flashing had pulled over to the side. Remi had no idea what it was there for. Suddenly one the back doors popped open and a long metallic tentacle with a sharp end shot out at the crowd. Panic erupted and people screamed and began to run. Remi would have too if the tentacle wasn't already wound around her. She screamed as she was quickly pulled into the backseat of the car. The door shut locking her in and the car sped off lights still flashing.

"Who are you?" asked Remi huddling in the backseat as the seatbelt crept over her lap on its own trapping her there.

"Silence fleshling," said the car.

Remi started shaking slightly when she realized that this was probably a Decepticon and she was being kidnapped. The true meaning of Lennox's warning hit her now and she swallowed nervously. She wasn't anything more than an acquaintance to the Autobots so she didn't understand what value she held to the Decepticons, but she'd have to think of something or there'd be no getting out of this situation alive. The stray thought that she could now add abducted by hostile aliens to her list of things that went wrong in her life was not amusing.

The police car drove into a large abandoned factory and dumped her out on the floor before transforming up. Remi noticed the red eyes and that only confirmed that this was a Decepticon. She regained her feet slowly and looked around her. There were two other robots in the room. One looked like it had wings so it probably formed into a plane. The other was much smaller and had a pile driver for a hand. Unless it was normally like that, Remi figured he transformed into construction machinery. The robots talked to each other in a strange sounding language that Remi couldn't understand and she quietly moved closer to the wall trying to make herself less noticeable. She felt a little bit safer when her back was covered, but she was still trapped in here with them. The police robot transformed back into a car and sped off. The flyer then came over and reached for her. His grip on her was not gentle, but at least it wasn't tight enough to break anything. He unceremoniously dumped her up on a catwalk.

"Human, what are the Autobots planning?" he asked in a deep voice that echoed through the factory.

"Poker night," said Remi tentatively. He obviously didn't like that answer as he knocked into the catwalk making it vibrate. Remi clung to the railing tightly praying she wouldn't fall.

"I'll ask you again," said the Decepticon. "Where is the Autobot's ship located?"

"I don't know," said Remi. "I never saw a ship. I was only brought to the military base because you all destroyed my car in your fight and I saw you. It's not like I'm a friend to them or anything. I don't even know where the base is because they were driving."

"Lies," barked the Decepticon. "You've been spotted on three separate occasions in the presence of an Autobot."

"It's a coincidence!" yelled Remi. "I lost three separate cars in your fights. I was only driving by!"

"Do you want me to make her talk?" asked the smaller Decepticon from below her. He turned on his pile driver and looked at her menacingly.

"Please no," said Remi sinking down. "I don't know." Remi swallowed thickly and sat on the catwalk floor. She quickly pulled her legs up to her chest, but didn't do so for comfort. It was cover for her pulling out her phone from her pocket. She was very surprised that they hadn't taken it from her and she still had reception here so it must have been an oversight. That or they didn't see humans as a threat. She thanked the heavens above that she had left it on silent and that Lennox had the foresight to give her his number in case something happened. While the two Decepticons appeared to argue with each other in their own language, she sent a quick text to Lennox. It read: Cons have me. Help! She then dialed his number and when the call connected, she stuck the phone in her pocket and slowly stood. "Look, don't hurt me and I'll tell you what I overheard," she said trembling. She didn't have to pretend to be scared because she truly was. This was truly the first kidnapping situation she didn't think she'd get out of alive.

"What do you know?" demanded the winged Decepticon.

"I overheard a soldier talking about Death Valley," said Remi gripping the catwalk railing. "I don't know if their ship is there or not, but they must be planning something that involves that location." While the information she was supplying was completely false, at least the location didn't have any people to get underfoot. God forbid it actually turned out to be the location of their ship though, but if they could hear her on the phone; maybe they could set a trap for the Decepticons.

"So can I kill her now?" asked the smaller Decepticon. He swiped at the catwalk and the ceiling supports snapped on one end causing the catwalk to turn into a rough slide that ended twenty feet off the ground. Remi screamed as she slid on her side down the catwalk. The rough metal grating bit into her side and she scrambled to find a handhold. She managed to grab onto the grate a mere foot from the end and she dangled over the drop precariously.

"Please," she called to the Decepticons. "Spare my life. I might be useful as a hostage against the Autobots. I lied. Some of them are really fond of me."

The Decepticon flyer ripped her off the end of the catwalk. "I thought so," he replied smugly placing her on the ground roughly. Remi fell and landed on her knees. "Rumble, watch her and keep her alive, for now." The flyer transformed and rolled out of the factory before taking to the sky leaving her with the pile-driving maniac.

Rumble seemed to ignore her so she slowly made her way over to where water was dripping from a broken pipe. She caught some in her hands and sniffed it and then hesitantly tasted it. It tasted like water so she rinsed off her newly acquired burns and scrapes and drank some. She also used a large nearby drain to relieve herself. She was sure Rumble wouldn't let her out of his sight and she needed to go so screw modesty. It wasn't like a giant metal robot would care about seeing her lady bits.

Remi sat by the wall hugging her knees. Hopefully the Autobots had gotten the message and had tracked her location before her phone had died. Itching to escape, she glanced around the nearly empty factory, but there was little to hide behind and Rumble was blocking the most obvious way out. Maybe there was an emergency door somewhere. Even if there were, it would be pointless if she were in the middle of nowhere. The police car had driven very fast and she hadn't seen much else except warehouses as they passed by. Speaking of the devil, the police car pulled into the factory, transformed and said something to Rumble in that language of theirs again. He then walked over and grabbed her roughly. Remi squeaked as she was promptly dropped in the middle of the floor. She looked up at the police Decepticon in worry, but she should have been watching behind her. Rumble suddenly lowered a large stainless steel cylinder over her. The inside of the thing was completely smooth so there was no way she could climb out. The diameter of the cylinder was bigger than her height and at least thirty feet tall. Remi didn't know if it was a pipe or if it had originally been used as a silo of some sort. She kicked it experimentally, but it didn't budge and it sounded solid. She heard the two Decepticons transform and leave the factory. They didn't even need to watch her now because there was no getting out and they knew it. Below her on the floor was a small drain barely bigger than her hand. It wouldn't work as an escape route either. Remi sat down and leaned against her cage wall in defeat. Her only hope was the Autobots, but since the sun had completely set now, it was unlikely they would come soon. She knew from experience that instant rescues like the ones in movies didn't happen in real life. To be honest she wasn't worth much to the Autobots so it was possible they wouldn't come at all. Perhaps her best bet was to make a break for it when she had the chance consequences be damned.

xxxx

Remi began to fear for her life again when the morning came and went. She was extremely hungry, but that feeling had started to taper off as the day waned. If someone didn't come for her soon, she'd probably die of dehydration first before starving to death. That is if the Decepticons didn't return and finish her off before that. Luckily the cylinder accumulated condensation so Remi was able to get a small amount of liquid. Remi tried to distract herself from her situation, but there was little she could do to keep her negative thoughts about what was to come at bay so she curled up and forced herself to continue sleeping.

A reverberating banging noise on the outside of the cylinder startled Remi awake. She clasped her ears against the noise and looked up, but didn't see any Decepticons. There was light filtering into the factory so she figured that it was morning. Suddenly she heard an explosion and what sounded like metal hitting metal. She caught the sound of voices and they weren't speaking in English. She shivered in terror. It appeared that the Decepticons had returned. Suddenly the cylinder was hit and it tipped over. Remi had been leaning against the wall when it went over so she was thrown into the cylinder. It was a fortunate thing because there was a giant metal foot standing where she had been a moment before. The cylinder let out a groan and Remi quickly crawled for the opposite end as the walls of the side she was currently sitting under, started to cave in. Once out of the cylinder, she turned to see a bright red and yellow robot taking on the Decepticon flyer from before and another Decepticon that she hadn't seen before. He had red eyes though so she knew which side he belonged to.

"There she is," said the red robot in English shooting a glance over at Remi before punching his opponent in the face.

"That's the worthless fleshy that sent us to Death Valley," snarled the yellow one. "I thought my paint was going to melt right off. We are going to have words."

Remi didn't stand frozen where she was instead she immediately ran for the open door while the battle continued. It was two on two so either side could win and if it was the Decepticons than she was so dead. That was with the assumption that those two bright colored robots were Autobots. If they were here to rescue her, it was about time, she thought crossly. Any longer and they would be rescuing a corpse. The yellow one had called her a worthless fleshy, which only proved that the Autobots most likely thought the same about humans as the Decepticons. The only difference was that since they cooperated with humans, they must be more politically correct with their terminology around their allies. They wouldn't fool her again however.

Remi didn't know how long she'd been running, but she finally came upon a hotel. She immediately went in and booked a room using the cash she had in her wallet. They'd probably be able to track her credit card. She took a long shower wincing at the sight of her bruises and scrapes in the mirror. She then ordered room service and sent out her clothes to be laundered before collapsing on the bed for a good night's sleep.

The following morning Remi turned on the news while she enjoyed complimentary breakfast in her room. There was a recap of a story from last night about an apartment that had blown up. It wasn't that unusual. It happened sometimes when apartments had gas stoves and the occupants got careless. She would have dismissed it immediately if the apartments hadn't looked so familiar. She looked closer at the picture on the screen. It was the top floor end unit and she sighed in exasperation as she recognized it. Yep, that was her place and her charred car sat in front of the wreckage. She had not only lost her car this time, but her apartment as well. Luckily there had been no reports of casualties, but there were several injuries. Remi felt bad for her neighbors and her breakfast was like lead in her stomach. The Decepticons were still looking for her that much was obvious. What was she supposed to do now? She didn't know Lennox's phone number. It had been in her phone like all the others and she must have lost her phone in her escape. She could look up her father's company's number and warn him that way, but she wondered if the Decepticons would actually go so far, as to go after her relatives to draw her out. Why couldn't they get it through those thick metal heads of theirs that she wasn't important? She sighed. One way or another she need a plan.

xxxx

Remi had a plan. It wasn't a good plan, but it was a plan. In order to save her relatives from getting mixed up in this situation, she would have to let herself be seen. Hopefully the Decepticons wouldn't be the only ones to notice. After finding out where she was, she had pinpointed the location of the daily news broadcast. She had seen it on the TV in her hotel room. They always started the segment by scanning the people walking outside the studio so she knew precisely where to stand for her face to end up plastered on the news segment. She made her appearance and then quickly climbed into a cab that was waiting for her nearby. She paid with her credit card so she could be tracked and the cabbie dropped her off in an old cemetery that had likely seen better days. It was fitting destination. If the Decepticons reached her first, then this would become her grave because she wasn't going to go willingly with them. If the Autobots got to her first, she might be saved. She hadn't met any Autobot flyers so her bet was on the Decepticons reaching her first. Of course they might no longer have a need for her, but she wasn't optimistic enough to believe it.

She had planned on being found immediately, but instead no one showed up for several hours and Remi's patience was wearing thin. More time spent here simply equaled more time thinking of what could possibly happen to her. She had to force her attention away from those dark thoughts before they consumed her. She was also mad that she'd been thrust into this situation by aliens of all things. Going back to her normal life this time wasn't going to be easy if at all possible. Suddenly Remi heard an engine. No, make it two engines. She hastily climbed up on top of a mausoleum that was about shoulder height to get a better view. She could see a red corvette and a yellow Lamborghini pulling up and to her relief they had the Autobot symbol on them. The corvette transformed, but she didn't expect the first question he asked her.

"At the factory, why did you run?" he asked.

"When someone refers to you as a worthless fleshy," said Remi huffing. "You don't stick around and see if they're friendly or not."

The Lamborghini transformed and snarled at her.

"We were there to rescue you," said the red robot diplomatically. "That should have been obvious."

"The only thing obvious was that the Decepticons were already doing their best to kill me without your help," retorted Remi glaring at the yellow robot as he glared back. "I was in that pipe that you used the Decepticon to crush. I mistakenly assumed that supposedly advanced aliens such as yourself would've been able to locate me by scanning for my body heat or something since I wasn't dead yet."

The two Autobots exchanged a look. Remi couldn't tell if it was annoyed or guilty and that just made her madder.

"Besides you were evenly matched," pointed out Remi. "I wasn't going to stick around and see who won."

"We handled those Cons easily," said the yellow Autobot dismissively. "They were no match for us."

"Well I didn't know that," said Remi. "Thanks for distracting them and all, but this worthless fleshy chose to save myself."

The yellow Autobot snarled. "If it weren't for Prime, you'd be a smear on the ground."

"Go ahead!" yelled Remi flicking him off. "Do me a favor because I can't go back to my normal life ever since you all came into mine. I barely survived the last four times. If not now, I'm sure you'll get me killed eventually."

The snarling yellow Autobot took a step toward her and she backed up instinctively except that she forgot she was on top of a mausoleum and that last step was way too close to the edge. Neither Autobot was close enough to offer assistance even if they wanted to when she fell off the mausoleum. It might not have been a big issue since she still had her feet under her except that when she landed, it was on another headstone. All three of them heard an audible crack and Remi felt a sharp pain shoot through her lower leg before collapsing to the ground with a muffled cry. She cradled her damaged leg to her body. It didn't really hurt unless she tried to move it and her leg felt sort of numb. At least there was no bone sticking out. She briefly wondered if she was in shock.

Before the Autobots could ask about her wellbeing, there was a roar of engines from above and the Autobots quickly turned and tensed. From their reaction Remi figured that it had to be the Decepticons. She didn't even know if the Autobots had any flyers among them. Well there wasn't anything she could do now that she couldn't even run. Her fate was in the hands of the robot that got to her first. She heard more engines in the distance and not long after she was scooped up from behind. She looked up to see the familiar face of Smokescreen, but that quickly disappeared as he roughly dumped her into a small compartment that opened on his lower chest.

Remi curled into the farthest corner of the dark compartment as the noise from the battle outside reached her. It was muffled by Smokescreen's armor, but she could still hear explosions and feel the occasional hit that rocked Smokescreen's body. Suddenly light burst into the hold where she was. She looked up to see a jagged hole in Smokescreen's armor with what looked like an aircraft missile partially wedged into the opening. She fervently hoped it wasn't live. Remi started to slide toward the opening as Smokescreen's body tilted forward. She braced herself against the part of the opening that was still closed and peered out the hole curiously. Smokescreen was on top of a Decepticon she hadn't seen before. He was struggling to keep the Decepticon's blades pinned down and away from his body. Remi glanced over at the missile in his chest and sighed. There were only two possible outcomes here. She slowly dragged herself over to the missile wincing at the pain it caused in her leg. Using her good leg, she started pushing against the side of the missile that was embedded in the armor. It moved very slowly, but finally started to slide out. Remi's last push activated some sort of flashing light on the missile and she watched it fall away and land on the Decepticon below. The Decepticon was so focused on Smokescreen that he hadn't seen the missile fall. He was so busy snarling and insulting Smokescreen that he didn't notice it until it landed right in his open mouth. Suddenly Remi was thrown to the back of the compartment again as Smokescreen suddenly rolled over. She heard another explosion, but she wasn't sure what had happened.

Eventually the sounds of battle stopped and Smokescreen transformed around her. She ended up in his passenger seat and let his engine lull her into a dazed sleep. The two soldiers who helped her out of Smokescreen once they reached the base had to wake her and then practically carry her to the base medic. She ended up with a cast on her lower leg and a pair of crutches. She demanded a shower before they put the cast on because she knew how itchy they eventually became and she wanted to lessen that if only at the beginning. She was fed after that and she was able to speak with her father who apparently had already been informed of the situation. She briefly wondered how he was involved with the Autobots, but considering his company she wasn't completely surprised. She was then debriefed by Lennox. She attributed her broken leg to her own carelessness and didn't mention the two Autobots that had been involved. Regardless of their views on humans, they had still tried to rescue her and in a way they had helped her escape her cage back at the factory. She emerged from the hanger shortly afterwards intending to go to the temporary room she'd been assigned to sleep, but Smokescreen was outside waiting for her. His armor was patched up now and there weren't any visible holes. It was a pity, but Remi knew that Lennox with his handsome face and big guns wouldn't be able to protect her from the Decepticons. Only someone as big and bad as those Decepticons would be able to keep her safe now so she instinctively headed straight to Smokescreen and he scooped her up immediately.

"Remi, you gave us quite the scare," said Smokescreen. "We were afraid you offlined, when we heard your scream over the phone. I'm sorry you had to go through all this, but coincidence or not you're stuck with us now and we won't let you down again."

Remi tightened her grip on the crutches lying across her lap. "Thank you for the sentiments, but even I know that I'm worthless to your cause. I wish the Decepticons would figure that out."

"Not at all, by sending the Decepticons to Death Valley and giving us the heads up, we were able to set a trap in time courtesy of our resident scientist," said Smokescreen. "We managed to greatly reduce their numbers permanently with no collateral damage. Plus during the battle just now when you pushed that missile out of my chest, it ended up blowing the head off of that Decepticon. My hands were rather tied up at the time so I appreciate it. I can see why Blaster loves his cassettes so much."

Remi inhaled sharply. She now suddenly understood once and for all that her normal life was over. In attempting to mislead the Decepticons and save her own life, she was directly responsible for all the troops they had lost in Death Valley. While that wasn't exactly true because of the Autobot's involvement, she was sure the Decepticons wouldn't see it that way. Her actions had inadvertently made her an enemy of an entire alien faction. A single tear slipped down Remi's cheek. It was the only evidence of her resignation and acceptance of the situation. She leaned against Smokescreen heavily as he cradled his hand to his chest.

"It's okay sweetspark," Smokescreen murmured comfortingly. "I've got you."


End file.
